


Flower Boy

by polkadotPotter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AND PURE, Angst?, Dates, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith thinks Lance hates him, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pidge is a gremlin, Pizza, allura works at a flower shop, and klance duh, and shallura, coran works at a flower shop, hunk is smol, hunk needs to be protected, i will ship shunk forever, idk if anything in here qualifies as angst but, lance buys keith shitty flowers, lance is a hopeless romantic, lance is actually just a hopeless everything, lance is dumb, lance thinks keith is hot, shiro helps lance not be dumb, shiro is not dumb, shiro works at a flower shop, super lame angst, trigger warning: lance is super oblivious you will cringe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 17:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11467956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polkadotPotter/pseuds/polkadotPotter
Summary: Lance gives flowers to a cute boy, and then it becomes a habit.He sends a few unintentional messages along the way.orIn which Lance is an idiot and doesn't understand the language of flowers, but Keith does and thinks Lance is threatening him.





	Flower Boy

Lance was always a fan of gestures. Big or small, rude or kind, he expressed himself with his actions; being a sophomore in college, Lance was a bit (i.e., a lot) out of touch with emotions and how to express them. Words were not his thing. Yet despite not being very good at expressing his emotions, he definitely knew what he was feeling and when.

And right now he was _very_ turned on.

"Lance, control yourself," Pidge was whispering, hiding the lower half of their face behind their notebook, a nasty glare spreading across their features. Hunk was next to them, looking like a mess; uncomfortable, nervous, amused, disgusted. The poor boy wasn't sure whether he should be covering his eyes or calling out to the subject of his best friends attention.

"Bu- Pidge! Ow!" Lance yelped as his smaller friend smacked him on the arm harshly. "But he's hot!" He spoke in a stage whisper, not very subtly either. A head twitched in their direction, and Lance whined, pushing himself down and under the table.

"Lance," Hunk whispered. "I love you, man, but this is weird. I don't even know this guy."

"Neither do I!" Lance argued, and the deadpan look on Pidge's face made him falter. "Okay, okay- it's weird. But the whole point of this is for me to be able to get to know him."

Pidge blinked owlishly at Lance, their eyes large and round behind their giant glasses. "Sure. Yeah. Okay, champ." Their tennis ball eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling sarcastically, and Lance pouted. "And how are you going to even get him to talk to you?"

Lance glanced over at the boy in question, his lower lip tucked neatly between his teeth. His name was Keith, and he was in a great deal of Lance's classes; they were taking the same major. He was like every other college student taking Aeronautical Science, except for the fact that Lance found him marginally better looking than everyone else. He wasn't sure what had done it for him; it certainly wasn't that 80's mullet, that's for sure. His gray, purple-ish eyes, maybe? His quiet demeanor? His out of style but endearingly dorky style of dress? Lance had no idea. But he was definitely pining. 

"Pidge, Pidge," Lance sighed, patting them on the shoulder. "Oh, my sweet, innocent Pidge. I'm not going to _talk_ to him."

Pidge raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent, allowing Hunk to ask intelligently, "Huh?"

Lance looked at his friends as if they were stupid. "Uh, I'm getting him flowers! Duh."

"Oh, duh," Pidge said back mockingly, their voice comically flat. "How could I have missed that? You were dropping so many hints."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Fine, make fun of me," he chided, wagging his finger in Pidge's direction. "But I will be returning to you tomorrow triumphant." He got up, seeing as it was almost the end of the day anyways, grabbing his bag and setting it on his chair so he could cram his papers into it. 

"Where are you going?" Hunk asked.

"To get the flowers," Lance announced. "I want to be ready for tomorrow. Besides, I don't have another class until tomorrow."

"Lucky," Pidge groaned. "I've got Iverson in an hour." They saw Hunk wince. He hated Iverson. Or more like, Iverson hated him. How anyone could hate Hunk was a mystery; the guy had a heart of gold and a taste pallet even better. 

As Lance hauled his backpack over his shoulder, Hunk smiled at him. "I hope he likes the flowers," he said, and Lance grinned back.

"Yeah, buddy. Thanks."

______________________

Lance had found a little flower shop on 8th street, about three or four blocks from campus. It was quiet modern looking, but still felt homey. Plants just made you feel like that, he guessed. The door chimed when he pushed it, and he was immediately met with a rush of ginger hair. "Well hello!" said a voice. It was a strange accent, one that Lance couldn't place, and it came from right in front of him. He blinked up at the figure in front of him, seeing a middle aged man with orange hair that fell behind his ears and a ridiculous looking mustache (no that he was judging. He liked a guy with a mullet, for fuck's sake).

"Hey," Lance said, looking around the shop. There was one other employee, closer to the register who was tampering with a few leaves on one of the succulents. He has broad shoulders and -holy crow, was that a prosthetic arm? -with a head of mostly short, black hair save a mop of dyed white hair in front that rested on his forehead. He spared Lance a quick glance.

"Hey!" he said back, pulling away from the plants. "What can we help you with?"

"Flowers," Lance announced, before realizing that he was being rude. "I mean, obviously. I'm just uh, I'm looking for something pretty. Do you have any suggestions?"

Shiro nodded, gesturing with his hand for Lance to follow him towards the back of the shop. "We've got more of our flowers back here, since there isn't a floor above this section and there's a nice little skylight that keeps them happy. We have them labeled for you, too, so if there's anything that catches your eye, just let me know. I'll leave you to browse." Lance nodded, thoroughly enjoying watching Shiro walk away before he turned back to look at the tables of flowers around him. There were lots of colors and lots of shapes, some tall or short or fat or looking like vines. 

It took him a while, but soon he went back up to the counter with some flowers in hand. "How much are these?" he asked, placing them on the wooden surface.

Shiro looked up at him, placing the magazine he had been reading down as well. "Tulips are two dollars per flower," he said, glancing at Lance skeptically. "Are you alright?"

Lance frowned, confused. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked as he fished the money out of his pocket and gave it to Shiro. The cashier just shrugged awkwardly and tied up the five flowers in their own miniature bouquet, a white ribbon around their middle to match the white petals. 

"Here you go," he said when he was done, handing Lance back his flowers and change. 

"Thanks, man!" Lance grinned. 

_________________

Lance had left the tulips on Keith's desk with a note, and was currently hiding in the back of the classroom when Keith arrived. He noticed the boy stutter in his stride when he took notice of his desk before he quickly sped up, walking over to his spot and picking them up, examining them with a frown. Lance saw him pick up the note, a pick up line that he was pretty proud of: 

"Roses are red,  
Tulips are white,  
You look pretty sweet,  
Can I try a bite?"

Keith's pale lips mouthed the words as he read them, his brow furrowing tighter and his mouth worked into a frown. He blinked at the flowers. He glanced at the note in his hand. He walked across the room, an unreadable expression on his face.

And then he tossed it.

Lance felt his stomach drop as he watched Keith angrily stomp back to his desk, face red and mouth curving down, the corners of his lips reaching for the floor. He looked unhappy from the flowers, but Lance couldn't imagine why. Was he uninterested? Allergic? Homophobic? He really hoped it wasn't the last one. But if it was, Lance was glad that he hadn't signed the note. Keith glanced around the room, and there were only a few others in it aside from Lance. He could see the gears in Keith's head turning, and Lance made himself look as innocent as possible. When those lilac eyes turned on him, he gave his best smile, the one that was just ever-so-slightly suggestive, if you looked hard enough in his eyes.

And as soon as he saw it, Keith's eyes widened and he _blushed_. Lance waved at him, and Keith awkwardly did the same, before turning around to face the front of the room and pulling out a book. Lance felt a frown paint itself across his face. Keith hadn't liked the flowers, apparently, but he seemed fine with Lance. Lance's mind started sprinting. Did he not like flowers in general, or just tulips? Or maybe just the color white? Lance sighed. He'd have to try again.

_____________________

"He tossed them?" Pidge asked, their question immediately followed by a roar of laughter. "Damn, Lance. I knew you were unlucky, but- ha!"

Lance glared at Pidge. "He probably just doesn't like tulips!" he defended himself. "And I'll have you know that I am a charming, kindly, handsome-"

"Humble," Pidge joked, losing breath as they began to snort through their laughter.

"-young man," Lance finished definitively. "And Keith will fall for me. With different flowers."

Hunk nodded, trying to support his friend. "I heard he likes red?" he suggested timidly, and Lance aimed a pair of excited finger guns at his best friend. 

"Yes! Thank you, Hunk!" he gestured towards him, giving Pidge a look. "Look at Hunk being all supportive, Pidge. You could take a page out of his book, eh?"

Pidge rolled their eyes. "Right. Just go buy your flowers. Because, you know, they worked so well the last time."

Lance smacked Pidge on the arm, frowning even though he really wasn't offended. Their friendship was built on a solid base of insults and abuse, but you'd never find a tighter friendship aside from Lance and Hunk's. "Shut up, you gremlin!" he pouted, tugging on their sleeve. "You just earned yourself in the passenger seat!"

Pidge narrowed their eyes. "What do I get?"

"Huh?" Lance asked.

Pidge sighed exasperatedly. "You heard me, what do I get? I'm not going if I don't get anything out of this."

Lance pretended to think. "Uh, my love and affection?" he suggested. When Pidge glared at him, and caved. "Fine, anything from McDonalds on the way back." When Pidge opened their mouth, he quickly corrected himself. "Anything under ten dollars. I'm broke as shit."

"Whatever. Hunk, you coming with?" they asked, and Hunk shook his head.

"No, I'm studying with Shay later," he said, and when he said the name Shay his face grew hot and red, not going unnoticed by his two friends.

"Oh, you mean you're going on a date?" Lance asked, a mischievous smile in place on his lips.

Hunk blushed darker. "No, no, we really are just studying! She asked me to help her get a head start on midterms."

"Oh, you'll get a _head_ start all right," Pidge said, and they cackled at the horrified expression on Hunk's face.

"No! No!" he whined, seeming distressed. "Lance! Take Pidge and their- their crass comments somewhere else! I need to go die." He buried his face in a couch cushion.

Lance laughed softly at his best friend, eyes full of brotherly love. "You got it, big guy."

______________________

"Back again so soon?" Shiro asked, noticing Lance heading past the register towards the back. He'd left Pidge in the car, making a joke about babies as he cracked open a window for his younger friend, earning him a smack and a sharp comment. 

Lance nodded. "Yeah, and I'm trying to one-up myself. Those flowers were a bomb. I'm looking for something prettier today."

Shiro picked up a watering can and nodded, walking around the desk. "I get it. Have anything in mind?"

Lance thought about it for a moment, before remembering what Hunk had said about Keith liking the color red. "Do you have anything red? That's also really pretty?"

"All flowers are pretty," Shiro mused, leading Lance past the shelves he had been at yesterday. "in their own way. Kinda like people." Lance didn't have to look at Shiro to know that there was a lovesick grin on his face. He chuckled.

"Who's the lucky lady?" he asked, and Shiro blinked, face reddening around the scar on his nose.

"I, uh- who said there's uh, there's a lady?" he stumbled over his words, looking like a giant, buff deer caught in a pair of proverbial headlights. 

"Your face did," Lance grinned, and Shiro sighed. 

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, still good-naturedly. "We just hired someone new, she's about my age. Her name's Allura, and she's basically the epitome of perfection."

Lance smiled and raised an eyebrow as he continued to sort through the flowers they'd come across. He never thought he'd see a guy like Shiro (huge as fuck, he meant) looking so smitten over a girl. "Tell me about her," he suggested, his smile growing when he noticed Shrio grow even more flustered. 

"She's super badass," he said, smile growing. "She has this white hair, and it's puffy and long and it goes down all the way to her waist. Coran is her uncle, actually. She think's I'm funny- me, and I just- she's literally the biggest feminist I've ever seen. It's great. And she cares, you know?" His hand almost slipped on the watering can and he fumbled for a moment, a look of horror crossing his face. Lance saw and laughed, waiting for Shiro to regain his composure. "Uh- sorry. But she's just so passionate about everything, even things she doesn't like. And she's kind, and selfless, and..." and then he trailed off, looking at Lance. "And, you think I'm rambling."

"You are rambling," Lance corrected Shiro, poking at what he thought might be a poppy. "But it's cute. You like her."

Shiro blushed. "Yeah, I do." When Lance grinned, finding Shiro's embarrassment endearing, the older man cleared his throat awkwardly. "So have you, um, decided on what you want?"

Lance chuckled. "Yeah, these," he pointed to the flowers in front of him. 

Shiro blanched at the flowers, and Lance heard him mutter something about irony. Or maybe morbidity. Possibly both. Either way, when Shiro handed the flowers to him, he looked slightly skeptical. "Red anemones? he asked.

"They're pretty," Lance shrugged, already heading back to the counter. 

"Eight bucks," Shiro said, and Lance balked.

"Per flower?" he gaped.

"No, ah- sorry," Shiro looked sheepish. "That's your total, God. Eight dollars a flower. I would jump off a cliff."

Lance laughed and handed Shiro the money, exchanging the dollars for the flowers. "Thanks man," he said, and Shiro nodded. "Good luck with that girl."

_____________________

Keith was livid when he found the anemones on his desk the next morning, along with the note: 

"Roses are red,  
Anemones are also red,  
I still think you're cute,  
let me take you to bed?"

Lance had to admit, it wasn't one of his best, but he didn't think that it warranted such a violently angry reaction. Keith had thrown the flowers in the trash with a frown, seeming annoyed. Hunk had suggested that maybe the poor guy didn't like being hit on or something, but Lance didn't like that and had dragged his friend back to the flower shop with him. 

Upon arrival, they found Shiro standing behind the counter, talking to a pretty lady with big, obvious white hair and dark skin, who was nearly as tall as Shiro himself. They both looked back as the bell on the door rang, and lance found himself waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Shiro. Shiro coughed. 

"Lance, hey!" Shiro said, a warning in his voice. "Uh, back for more flowers?"

"Yeah," Lance sighed. "I need better flowers." He glanced at the girl next to Shiro, and although he already knew, he had to ask: "Who's this pretty lady?"

Shiro coughed again. "Uh, Lance, this is Allura. Allura, Lance."

"Cool. This is Hunk, my trusty sidekick," Hunk waved as Lance introduced him, and Shiro nodded. Allura waved back.

"Welcome," she said. Shiro hadn't been lying when he said she had a nice smile. Lance headed back and grabbed the first flower he saw that wasn't red or white. It was yellow, and when he brought it up to the counter, he noticed Shiro and Allura exchange a look. 

"A yellow carnation?" Shiro asked, and Lance nodded firmly. The older man chuckled. "Damn, Lance. That's seven bucks." 

Lance paid and left, his visit far quicker than it had been yesterday. He sighed as Hunk pulled the car back into the campus parking lot, just in time for them to get to their next class as early as they liked. They had it together, and Lance was determined to give the new flower to Keith. He'd scribbled a note in the car, and the writing was sloppy, but by the time he and Hunk had arrived to the classroom and he was setting it on Keith's desk, he had convinced himself it was readable. He placed it on Keith's desk and waited.

Except he didn't have to wait long, because as soon as the flowers hit the desk, Keith walked into the room. Lance jumped and darted away, but thankfully Keith hadn't been paying attention, and didn't notice. He did notice the flowers, though, and Lance didn't miss the annoyed look on his face as he picked up the note.

"Roses are red,  
Carnations are yellow,  
You can come over to my house,  
you seem like a pretty swell fellow."

Keith groaned and glared at the flowers, looking around the room suspiciously. Upon seeing Lance, he raised an eyebrow suspiciously, and looked away. He looked disappointed. Rejected. And Lance didn't know why. 

_______________ 

"He's screwing with me, Shiro!" Keith grumbled, his mouth pulled into an angry pout. "He probably knows I like him, and he's making fun of me. I bet he's making fun of me. He definitely is." 

Shiro was sitting in his chair behind the desk at the flower shop, and Keith was slumped dramatically against the counter, chin pressed into his folded arms. Keith had come into the shop, finally getting a break from homework to see his brother, and for the most part, he'd spent the entire time complaining about some guy who was giving him what were, according to Keith, really shitty flowers. "How is he making fun of you with flowers?" he asked. "I thought it was supposed to be a sweet gesture."

"Not from him, it's not," Keith grumbled. "Three days in a row, Shiro. Always a shitty flower, always a creepy, suggestive note. It's like- he's threatening me with _foliage_ , Shiro. Who the fuck does that."

"This guy?" Shiro asks, unhelpfully.

Keith groaned loudly, throwing himself into a chair. "I mean, first it was the tulips, and the the red anemones, and today it was carnations. Yellow carnations! Like, I get he hates me and all, but I think just the tulips would have sent the message, and why the fuck do I even still think he's hot, and ugh-" he paused when he noticed a frown on Shiro's face, recognizing it as Shiro's thinking face. "What?"

"He got you tulips?" he asked cautiously. "And Anemones, and then carnations?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Offensive, right? I can't believe he'd-" He was caught off guard by Shiro laughing, and he frowned. "What's funny? Shiro, I'm being publicly humiliated by this guy!"

"Keith," Shiro said, voice breathy through his laughs, "I know that kid. Lance, right?"

"Keith immediately jerked. "Yeah. The dick. Why?"

"He's so clueless, I'm- oh my god, I'm so clueless!" Shiro face palmed. "I should have realized he was getting them for a person. I would've made him choose different flowers!"

Keith frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Shiro smiled gently at his brother. "Keith, he bought the flowers because he thought they were pretty, not because he was trying to send a message. I don't think he knows what they mean, even. Not everyone has the flower charts memorized like you."

Keith glared at the floor. "Yeah, and he just happens to "accidentally" give me the rudest possible flowers ever, out of like, hundreds of species?"

Shiro shrugged. "You'd be surprised at the amount of shitty luck people can get," he said. To emphasize, he rested the elbow of his prosthetic against the counter, reaching up with his mechanical hand to brush the metal fingers against the scar on his face. "Bad luck, Keith. That's what this is."

"Promise?"

"Keith, I promise." Shiro assured him. "I thought he was bringing those tulips to a funeral, and when I asked him if he was alright he looked so confused. Poor guy."

Now it was Keith's turn to face palm. "Damn it. Ugh." He peeked at Shiro from between his fingers. "Do I have to apologize to him?"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "For throwing away the flowers he bought you right in front of him? Probably."

Keith crossed his arms. "Well- well he has to apologize too. He got me shitty flowers." He was grumpy again.

Shiro chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Keith. I know what to do."

__________________

Lance walked into the shop with Pidge and Hunk behind him, and as soon as the bell chimed he was assaulted by Shiro, he pulled him back towards the flowers. "Shiro- what?" Lance looked at the older man, wide-eyed, as Pidge and Hunk stood back and watched in confusion. 

"Dude, Keith thought you were threatening him!"

Lance paused to blink, processing what Shiro had said. "Huh?"

Shiro sighed. "You should have told me you were getting flowers for a _guy_ , Lance. I would have made you get better flowers!"

"Wait- I- you know Keith?"

"Yeah, he's my brother," Shiro explained. Lance heard Pidge start to laugh and he frowned. 

"Hold on, what did you mean I needed better flowers? What's wrong with the ones I got?" Lance asked, and Shiro smiled softly.

"They were bad flowers to give to someone you are romantically interested in. Tulips are pretty much the poster flower for funerals and, well... death. Red anemone's basically symbolize death and hate, and yellow carnations mean rejection. You basically told Keith, through flowers and unintentionally, that you hated him and that you wanted him dead."

The room was silent and suddenly Lance's face lost all of it's color. He went as pale as Pidge (a difficult feat) and his eyes were wide. "Fucking shit! Fuck!" he blurted, and then he smacked himself. "He- I- oh my shitting fucking dickhole, he probably hates me!" He groaned. "I'm the worst romantic ever, geez! Fuuuuuuck!"

Pidge was laughing maniacally while Hunk was watching Lance with pity, thinking about how to best comfort his friend. Shiro placed a hand on Lance's shoulder so that he would stop. "Lance, hey. Lance." Lance paused, blinking at Shiro. "Keith knows you weren't actually trying to kill him."

Lance gaped. "What? How?"

Shiro shrugged. "I told him."

Lance gaped a bit more before throwing his arms around Shiro. "Wow, dude, thanks!" he said. "You're the MVP here, Shiro. You rock."

Shiro chuckled. "So I've been told."

"So now, I, uh, Keith! I should find Keith." Lance announced loudly, and Shiro nodded, grinning like a proud, less sinister version of the Cheshire Cat. 

"I don't need to give you the big brother talk, do I?" Shiro asked, and Lance gulped.

"No, sir," he said seriously, and Shiro laughed before reaching behind the counter and pulling out a box. 

"Good, because I really didn't want to. I'm lazy." Lance laughed, but took the box from Shiro with a questioning look on his face. "It's a cactus," Shiro explained. "Keith likes those."

Lance scoffed. "And I'm the unromantic one," he said, and Pidge laughed.

"Just go get your man, twig," they said.

"Sure, yeah, you gremlin," Lance shot back, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling something on it. "Go back to your computer." He smiled while he said it. And then he left.

_________________

He saw Keith in the hallway after class the next day, and his hands tightened around the box he was holding when he noticed that Keith was walking towards him. "Keith," Lance said, thrusting the box towards him. "I'm really sorry man, I didn't know what the flowers meant! I thought I was getting you pretty flowers, but I accidentally told you I hated you, which I don't, so uh, sorry about that." Keith opened the box and smiled when he noticed the cactus, a note resting on top. "It's cute and prickly, just like you," Lance explained sheepishly, and Keith raised an eyebrow at him, but Lance saw the amusement in his eyes. "Heh. Anyway, this is supposed to make up for my shitty flowers."

Keith took out the note then and read it aloud: "Roses are red, Cacti are prickly, Being without you, Makes me pretty sickly." He looked up at Lance, entertained. "I gotta say, you've had better."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" he asked, teasing.

Keith nodded. "I definitely liked the one that came with the tulips the best." Lance found himself flushing, face heating up. "Maybe you can try a bite of me later, hm?" Keith asked, and Lance nearly died where he was standing. _What the fuck, this kid can flirt_.

"Holy shit," was all he could think of to stay. Keith laughed.

"Right," he said, and then he was reaching into his jacket, pulling out a white flower. "Uh, this is for you." Lance took it, a questioning look on his still red face. "It's a lily. It symbolizes forgiveness." Lance smiled, glancing at Keith. "So, uh, Lance, I forgive you for sending me shitty flowers."

"Heh," Lance said. "Thanks, man." Keith nodded with a small smile, and rocked back on his heels a bit awkwardly, hands clasped behind his back.

"So..." he said, looking at Lance somewhat nervously. "You like pizza?"

"Fuck yeah I like pizza," Lance said, face lighting up as he realized what was happening. He glanced back at the classroom. "You know, Keith, I don't think I'm feeling to well. Might have to miss class." he winked, and Keith laughed quietly. 

"Shit, me too," Keith said loudly, into the open doorway. He faked a cough and Lance almost lost it at the dead look on his face when he did so, earning a smile. "Better leave then."

"Oh, I have the plague, Keith!" Lance gasped dramatically. "I don't know if I can stand!"

Keith gave Lance a look, clearly trying to hold in his laughter. "Now you're pushing it, flower boy," he said, but his cheek hurt from smiling and Lance knew it was okay. He backed away down the hall. "Come one, let's get that pizza." Lance followed after him, white lily dangling from his pocket. 

Forgiveness, he thought, was underrated.


End file.
